Hi Reader,

I was watching this insta video from Jamie Olivier yesterday and I thought: this is how you should think about a career you love!

I work with these people who want to reorient themselves in life, who were either laid off or leaving a toxic work culture, or relocating and starting everything from scratch or standing at a crossroads and trying to figure out what’s next. Usually on the very first call when we meet I ask them to start a journal and write down every single day what brings them joy, what lights their heart up, what moves them, and what they wanna do more of. And as they start doing more of them, they slowly and gradually grow into a thing that becomes their interest, their passion, the thing they do in their spare time (and even in the breaks of completing their duties), their project, their side-hustle, their gig, their profession, their vocation and the very thing that gives meaning to their life.

Your personal brand is you.

I love Jamie’s posts, particularly on insta, because they’re honest, funny and real-life like. Besides the food-content that I assume his team is putting together, he has these completely random videos and short posts with massive typos and everyday-like language. And even if it’s composed and obviously part of his brand, it feels human.

Something we all crave for these days: real-life people, real-life situations, seeing his kid saying that he doesn’t want to eat what he cooked for dinner, his grey hair on the camera, starting a sentence with small letters bc honestly do you always format your texts when you whatsapp it to your friend? This is exactly what his brand is telling us.

I can imagine him going to his huge-all-in-there garden and enjoying a juicy BBQ with his family, and friends on a Sunday afternoon. It all seems like he’s been admitting us to the joys of his life, and to the activities he genuinely loves. He shares the things that he loves using and the recipes he’s cooking with and for his family anyway. He is like him.

When you’re thinking about what’s next in your career,

what you should do and how to get closer to a profession you love, start writing down things that you genuinely enjoy. Go for a walk and notice the things that are catching your eye, open up a Keep notes, have that list handy and gradually make it longer and more detailed. Look around in your home, what you like using, what do you enjoy spending time with, what are your interests, how do you write messages, how do you speak and dress naturally, and all those things will be part of your personal brand.

It requires courage though. Because it will mean that you will stop trying to please others, fit into a culture, a company or an industry, you’ll stop trying to make it right and create an image that hopefully will get you closer to a rich job or got you your next big project.

It will mean that you’ll do you. 🧡🧡🧡

It will mean that you’ll align your life, your career, and your people with your authentic self. The tension that comes from trying to be someone else will be gone, and the inner and outer world will be more alike, until it’s gonna become one.

News

After a good 2-months break, I’m taking on new 1-1 coaching clients from February. I resumed my coaching calls last week and oh, it feels good to be back in business! 🙌

Please help me spread the word and make referrals to let me find and support the people who need me or looking for support with any of the following challanges:

The current topics I help folks with are:

Life transitions, career reorientation, switching from large companies to startups (or vice versa), re-entering the job market after a break or after being a start-up founder/ business owner, building a portfolio career, business coaching for founders and freelancers, female leaders entering a new leadership role, strengthening self-belief, mental health, and burnout prevention.

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In January, I joined Fired Up, a Berlin-based collective of coaches. Here I help entrepreneurs, female leaders, and international business professionals reinvent themselves in their mid-30s. It’s a free opportunity for coaching for those who are currently registered unemployed in Germany and wanting to reorient themselves in their career. The coaching is 100% funded by the German Jobcenter/Agentur für Arbeit. It’s an amazing opportunity for those who are out of work and want to make a conscious choice about what’s next. Check out my profile and how can I help here. 👀

Question

This time I’m curious about your thoughts! :-)

What would you like me to write about?

If we ever worked together or interacted or you’ve been reading me here for a while, please share: What do you think I’m really great about? What should I do more of?

Kitchen Wisdom

Pasteis de Belem. This one is the original custard tart that you can get from an old shop in Belem, in Lisbon. If bought in any other bakery, it's called Pasteis de Nata. Buy at least two if not more. Top it with cinnamon and powdered sugar, walk into the park, Praça do Império Garden, just two minutes from there, sit on a bench, wonder about the beautiful building of Centro Cultural de Belem and enjoy this deliciousness with a bite of sunshine (if you're lucky enough).

That’s it, people! I hope you enjoyed the newsletter! By the way, I’m sending it again from Substack, I tried using this other newsletter provider, and tbh it wasn’t fun writing there and I kept postponing writing and sending you news and kind words. This year, my motto is ease and joy, and moving toward what works.

Take care,
Zsanett

Zsanett Czifrus is a Transformational Coach for Women. Superfood For Thought is her newsletter to inspire you to live a fulfilling life, be well, and thrive in business. ​www.zsanettczifrus.com​

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